Inscape
by Seven Devils
Summary: Almost a year after the Originals have left Mystic Falls, Bonnie and Damon begin a secretive  not-relationship. After Stefan catches wind of them, things become a little hectic. Primarily Bamon. Later D/B/S.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! So I started this about a month ago, and I finally decided to finish it. It takes place in the future, almost a year after the originals are gone (some of them died, some moved to different locations). Also, Elena isn't with Damon or Stefan at the moment. But both she and Stefan are sort off hashing out where they stand with each other, though. It's all a confusing ball of emotions and mess. Just like any regular TVD episode. LOL.

**OK, so heads up: This story is primarily Bonnie/Damon, but there will be some Damon/Bonnie/Stefan down the line. **

**Also, ****this story is rated M for a reason. ****There's sex in the first chapter and upcoming chapters to come, but there will also be plot, so this isn't a pwp.  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1<strong>_

This thing between them, it was strange and unexpected.

It wasn't even really **thing**. They kind of just fell into bed one day after a particularly vicious fight that left Bonnie with bruises on her neck and Damon with long, but healing fingernail scratch marks on his chest and arms.

She doesn't even remember what the argument was about, but there was a tangle of lips and a hiss of a curse and they fucked right there on the boarding house living room floor as if their lives depended on it.

It sounded vulgar to say 'fuck', but that's basically what happened. It wasn't gentle. They didn't make love. It was rough and Bonnie bruised in places she didn't even think was possible. She fought back with everything in her; Tearing his t-shirt, grabbing his neck, and biting his lips until she drew blood. It excited him. Made him throw back his head and laugh hysterically as he grabbed her lips and welcomed her scratches, her slaps. She'd never done anything like that before. There was only Jeremy before and he was gentle, always checking to make sure she was alright.

The first time, after they were finished, Bonnie fixed her clothes as much as possible, fingers shaking as she ignored Damon's naked back as he walked over to the bar and poured himself some alcohol. She got up and made her walk (limp) of shame to the door, swearing to herself that it was a mistake and that it was momentarily insanity.

But it happened again a week later and a few days after that. Soon, she stopped denying that it was a onetime thing, a mistake. But one thing she and Damon were absolutely clear about: It was just sex, nothing more.

Outside of their 'sessions', they could barely stand each other. Or rather, Bonnie could hardly stand him. And it didn't bother her when he flirted with other women right in front of her if they both happen to be at the Grill. And he always looked at her and smiled as if he was waiting for a reaction from her. She never gave him one, though. Why would she care? He wasn't her boyfriend and they honestly only seemed to find common ground when they slept together.

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><p>Tonight was another one of those nights. She, Damon, Stefan, and Caroline had gathered to talk about a group of campers who were killed a few miles outside of town. Sheriff Forbes had told them that it was possibly werewolves since there were no fang marks or blood draining. But the kills were vicious and there was a full moon. That area had no large animals that could rip 8 grown men and women limb from limb. It was a bit of a stretch to want Stefan and Damon to go out and look for clues, but after the originals invasion less than a year ago, Sheriff Forbes wasn't taking any chances.<p>

As everyone was beginning to file out, Damon brushed up behind Bonnie as she bent down to pick up her bag. Bonnie stood up so quickly to see if Caroline or Stefan noticed, but they were too lost in their own worlds.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie hissed as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

Damon smirked and took her bag away, throwing it on the couch. "C'mon. It's starting to rain. You might as well camp out here for a while. A few hours, even."

He licked his lip and grazed his thumb against Bonnie's collarbone.

Bonnie batted his hands away and frowned. "You're getting handsy."

And he has. He's been touching her more and getting more daring with his displays of pseudo affection. Like now. Caroline was standing by the door, fishing though her bag and Stefan was looking at a map by the fireplace. At any moment, either of them can look up and see Damon practically on top of her.

Bonnie took a step back. "You're driving me home."

Damon winked. "Deal."

She turned around. "Hey, Caroline?"

Caroline looked up from her spot by the door where she was now frantically texting. "Hmm?"

"You can go on without me, if you want. I want to take a second look at the reports your mom left."

Caroline frowned. "Are you sure? How will you get home? I know you're not going to walk, it's pouring out there."

"Don't worry, Blondie." Damon said, sugary sweet. "I'll give her a ride."

Caroline raised her eyebrows and Stefan looked up as well.

"Well, ok. If you're sure…" Caroline said hesitantly. "Text me when you get home, ok?"

"Of course." Bonnie said as she tried not to notice Stefan staring. "And uh, tell Elena I'll call her."

"Will do." Caroline said as she went back to texting as she walked out the door.

Bonnie finally looked at Stefan, who was now looking at Damon, who was looking at Bonnie.

Soon, Stefan shook his head and turned to go upstairs. "Wake me up if there's any more news. I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight." Damon called after him and Stefan was gone.

"The police reports are on the table in the kitchen." Damon said directly into Bonnie's ear, making her jump a little. "Let's go take a look."

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><p>They had to be quiet. They'd never done it while Stefan was home, so this was a first. Bonnie wandered what Stefan would say if he ever found out she was screwing his brother. She knew he wasn't judgmental, but she guessed he would try to warn her that she was making a mistake.<p>

She was barely in Damon's room before his hands were tugging off her jeans and slipping his fingers between her legs.

They've been doing this for 2 months and they'd just started using his room. But Bonnie never got a good look around, though, since she always left right after she was finished.

Bonnie groaned quietly as he slid her panties down and over her knees before pushing her back towards his bed. After taking care of his clothes, Damon grabbed her by one of her ankles, pulling her towards him like some sort of caveman and Bonnie had no idea why, but it made her hot.

The lights were off (they didn't get a chance to turn it on) and the only light source were the streetlights outside. Damon's eyes seemed brighter as he leaned down closer and pulled the leg in his hands around his waist.

Before Bonnie could even prepare herself, he pushed into her in one fluid moment, knocking the air out of her lungs and causing her to whine. Damon bent down and muffled her high pitched noises in a kiss. Another first. They never kissed. They've grazed their lips a few times, sure. But this was a real honest to God lip locking kiss that stole the air from the room. Bonnie didn't know what to do, so she just laid there.

When he pulled back, he looked down at her disapprovingly. "Shh, shh. Stefan may not be asleep yet."

Bonnie was about to curse at him, but he pulled his hips back and snapped them forward, shutting her up immediately.

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><p>When they were finished, Damon dropped Bonnie's leg and it flopped down uselessly at her side. She couldn't be bothered easing it down gracefully. She was tired and languid and her leg ached form Damon holding it up the entire time.<p>

He pressed himself down on her completely and inhaled at her neck. Suddenly, as if he couldn't help it, his gaze darkened and spiderweb-like veins grew and pulsed under his eyes. Bonnie froze under him, her wits coming together quickly.

"Damon, you know the rules." She said breahlessly, willing the odd concoction of fear and lust out of her voice. "No biting."

Damon had stilled for a few seconds as his change completed. With one quick movement, his lips were at Bonnie's throat and she held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to bloom in her neck, but nothing came. Instead, Damon just breathed against her deeply for a few seconds until he pulled back to reveal his regular human-like face. Bonnie let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back against the pillows again. Damon pulled out of her and flopped beside her on his back, hand absentmindedly trailing up her thigh again.

It was starting to rain and thunder very heavily outside when Bonnie's breathing finally returned to normal. Damon's wandering hand made its way between her legs again and he chuckled when she jumped and tried to push him away. She could feel a blush forming on her cheeks.

"My brother is still up." Damon said softly as he tilted his head to one side. Bonnie stared at him wide eyed as he leaned against her neck, hands rubbing a bit faster between her legs as he licked the pulse on her neck. "I can hear him pacing in his room."

Bonnie bit her lips and blushed furiously. Now the embarrassment was really kicking in. The idea of Stefan hearing them have sex made her sober up quickly. Sitting up against the headboard, Bonnie tried to snap her legs shut and bolt, but Damon smirked and said, "You're way past the point of being modest, witchy."

He removed his fingers from between her legs and Bonnie sighed with both relief and frustration, but it didn't last long. With one quick movement, Damon was between her legs. He grabbed her foot again and kissed the inside of her ankle, making her close her eyes and sigh.

"He can hear you, you know. Just like I can hear him." Damon said as he trailed kisses up her leg. "Every one of those cute little noises you're making. Every sigh, every sinful groan - he hears it all."

"I'm not into exhibition, Damon." Bonnie panted.

"It's only true exhibition if he was in here watching, Bonnie." Damon countered as he winked and disappeared between her legs.

"Would you like that, Bonnie?" Damon practically breathed against her as he leaned in to lick a stripe up her clit. Two more firsts. Damon never went down on her and she never stayed this long after sex. "Would you like my brother to watch me fuck you?"

"No." Bonnie said, actually appalled at the words coming out of his mouth. Just the thought of Stefan anywhere near this, whatever this was, was… there were no words. "You're out of your goddamn mind, Damon."

Damon chuckled, hooked her legs over his shoulder, and went to work.

After what had to be just a few seconds, Bonnie bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image of Stefan wide eyed and shocked in his room down the hall as she came the hardest she ever had in her entire life.

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><p>So, there's the first chapter! Please review and let me know what you think!<p>

Also, I'm sorry if Bonnie seemed a bit ooc, I guess?


	2. Chapter 2

_First, thank you for the reviews everyone! I wasn't expecting this much attention and I really, really appreciate it._

_Also, this chapter came out longer than I expected, but I'm kinda happy with it. Hope you guys like it!_

_A quick note: This story was started before the events of 3.15. So Bonnie still considers Stefan a 'friend' in this story._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<strong>_

The first thing Bonnie realized when she woke up was that she wasn't lying on her bed and this wasn't her room. The light, which usually hit her on the right side, was coming in from her left. The sheets were unfamiliar and almost silky, shifting smooth under her as she rolled over and came face to face with Damon's lax, sleeping features.

Bonnie swallowed as she remembered the events of the night before. The things Damon said and did and how it made her feel. A fresh hot wave of embarrassment waved over her and she closed her eyes for a few seconds to collect herself.

Slowly, she got out from under the sheets, trying extremely hard not to jostle Damon out of his sleep. Once she was out of the bed, she began to look around for her clothes. Her shirt was over by the window, while her jeans were by the door. Her underwear was right next to it and she groaned when she noticed that it was _ripped_.

"Damon." She sighed exasperatedly. She turned towards the bed, ready to scowl at his sleeping form only to find him sitting up, staring back at her. Bonnie jumped.

"Morning." Damon said, staring at her with a foggy expression on his face.

"It's freaky how you guys don't make any noises." Bonnie said as she turned away from him and slipped on her jeans.

"We're natural hunters." Damon said as he watched her movements closely. "We make noises, but it can be hard for human ears to hear."

"Right." Bonnie said as she made her way over to the window and grabbed her shirt before putting it on. "You owe me another pair of underwear."

Damon smiled, finally, and Bonnie noticed how attractive he looked when he was still coated with sleep. Damon pretty much looked good always, not even Bonnie could deny that, but seeing him in the morning light, hair ruffled and eyes still a little tired, he looked almost human.

Bonnie realized she was staring then turned away from him and started halfheartedly looking for her bra. When she couldn't find it, she turned to face him again.

"Have you seen my bra?" She asked.

Damon pursed his lips and fished his hands under the covers before pulling out a lacy black bra. He smirked and tossed it to Bonnie, who let it fall to the floor before bending down awkwardly and picking it up.

"Your cellphone's ringing downstairs." Damon said as flexed back onto the bed. "It's probably Caroline, you forgot to text her."

"Damn it!" Bonnie grounded out as she made her way to the door.

"Just tell her you forgot because you were preoccupied." He said from behind her and Bonnie could pretty much hear the smirk in his voice.

She turned around to give him her best 'you're not funny' look before heading out the door and closing it shut behind her.

She got downstairs right at the last ring and started rummaging around in her bag to get her phone. When she finally got it, she noticed she had 6 missed calls: three from Caroline, two from her dad, and one from Elena. She called Caroline first.

"Where the hell are you?" Caroline answered on the first ring. "I called and texted and got no answer."

"Uh, I'm at the boarding house." Bonnie said, almost hesitant. She could have lied and said that she was home. But Bonnie wasn't a good liar and whenever she tried, Caroline always called her out on it. She said her face was too honest.

The line was silent and Bonnie was beginning to think that Caroline's phone had lost signal, but then she spoke up.

"It's 7am." She said suspiciously. "What are you doing there? I swear if you guys are planning on doing any werewolf hunting without me, you're mistaken!"

"No, no." Bonnie said as she ran a hand through her hair. "I stayed here. For the night."

"Why?"

Just then Damon came thumping down the stairs, followed closely by Stefan who was whispering something to Damon that Bonnie couldn't hear.

"It's something we'd better talk about in person." Bonnie said, suddenly distracted as she caught Stefan's eyes. She could feel her cheeks flush as she averted her gaze and focused on Damon instead who was swaggering towards her with a cat-like smile on his face.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home." He said as he brushed past her and headed for the door.

"Was that Damon?" Caroline asked from the other line.

"I'll call you later, okay?" Bonnie said before hanging up and pushing her phone and her bra into her bag.

Stefan came to stand by the doorway.

"Morning, Bonnie." He said as calm and collected as always.

Bonnie turned to look at him and smiled as best as she could without grimacing. "Morning, Stefan."

She and Stefan looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Damon poked his head through the front door.

"Come on, judgey." He sing-songed as he tapped his invisible watch. "I have things to do today."

"Like what?" Bonnie snapped as she turned away from Stefan and towards Damon. "You don't do anything all day."

Damon frowned. "You know, I could just let you walk home."

Bonnie gave him a look. "You wouldn't dare."

"I may have to if you keep stalling around."

"You're a jackass." Bonnie snapped as she made her way to the door.

"And you're slow." Damon said when she finally reached the doorway. He smirked at her as she walked past him and went outside.

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><p>The first thing Bonnie did when she got home was take an extremely long shower. After scrubbing herself down until her skin tingled, she stood under the hot spray thinking about what happened last night.<p>

The things Damon did and said, and how they'd kissed for the first time. As first kisses went, it wasn't a traditional first kiss. In fact, Damon only seemed to do it to keep her quiet. It didn't work though, because Stefan still heard them and now things were gonna be weird because Damon was a dick.

Bonnie ran her hands through her soaking hair. Stefan knew now. And she was going to tell Caroline today. She shouldn't have kept this from her. Even though, in Bonnie's mind, this thing with Damon was not a real relationship, Caroline is her best friend. She should have known about this _before_ Stefan.

When the water began to run cool, Bonnie turned it off and stepped out of the shower. She shivered slightly in the cool air and grabbed a towel before wrapping it around herself. Moving quickly, she stepped out into the hallway and walked to her bedroom. When she opened the door, Caroline was sprawled out on the bed with her eyes closed.

Bonnie closed the door behind her.

"Your dad let me in." Caroline said as she opened her blue eyes and fixed them on Bonnie. "Apparently, he didn't even know that you came in. I told him you left your cellphone at Elena's, where we spent the night and had good wholesome fun."

"Thanks for covering for me." Bonnie said as she walked over to her draws and began pulling out her underwear.

"For that, you owe me an explanation." Caroline said as she sat up. "And an apology for hanging up on me."

"I'm sorry, Caroline." Bonnie said as she walked into her walk-in closet and started dying her skin.

"Apology accepted." Caroline's voice rang out from the other side of the closet door. "Now you tell me what you and the Salvatores are planning. I want in."

"We aren't planning anything." Bonnie said as she hung up her towel and started putting on her underwear. She hesitated before continuing. "Caroline, you know I love you, right?"

Caroline was quiet for a few seconds so Bonnie opened the closet door and stared at her. "Right?"

"Of course." Caroline said. She looked concerned now. "Bonnie, is something wrong?"

_You have no idea._ Bonnie thought to herself before coming out of the closet and walking over to her drawers again.

"No." She said as she pulled out a t-shirt and put it on before walking over to the bed and sitting down next to her friend. Caroline was watching her every move.

Bonnie wondered how the hell she was going to approach this topic.

"_Straight-forward," _Bonnie said to herself. "And to the point."

"I stayed the night at the Boarding house last night because I was with Damon." Bonnie said as she watched Caroline's face go from concerned to a little surprise. "I slept with Damon."

Caroline blinked rapidly a few times. "What?"

Bonnie swallowed and looked away. She didn't feel ashamed, but she did feel _something_ negative. She couldn't place her finger on the feeling, though.

"There's more." She continued as she stared straight ahead. "We've been, uh…"

"You've been what?" Caroline prompted.

"We've kinda been sneaking around for 2 months." Bonnie blurted out.

When she finally looked back at Caroline, she suddenly knew what she was feeling. It was guilt.

Caroline shook her head as if she was trying to clear it. "Wow, Bonnie."

"I know, Caroline, and I'm sorry for not telling you."

"Does Elena know?" Caroline asked as she looked at Bonnie with wide eyes.

"Of course not!" Bonnie said. "I wouldn't tell her without telling you. Especially since she and Damon has some sort of history."

Caroline looked hurt. "Well, why didn't you tell me?"

Bonnie ran her fingers through her still-wet hair. "I don't know. I just… It was supposed to be a onetime thing and it kept happening. I was expecting it to end and it just didn't. I wanted to tell you but I just … I know you and Damon had issues in the past and I didn't want to mess up our friendship."

"I wouldn't stop being your friend over you screwing Damon and going on dates behind everyone's back."

"We're not dating." Bonnie said quickly.

A smirk slowly crept into Caroline's features. "So you guys are just, like, messing around?"

Bonnie smiled too and looked away again. "Kinda."

"You're such a minx." Caroline said as she pushed her.

"I am not!" Bonnie said as she pushed her back.

Caroline bit her lower lip. "So how is it with him?"

"I'm not going into detail." Bonnie said as she got up and walked over to her closet again.

"Oh, come on!" Caroline said. "Stop being a conservative grandma! I told you about my time with Tyler!"

"And that was TMI for me, sweetie." Bonnie said when she reappeared with her blow-dryer.

Caroline rolled her eyes and mumbled a disappointed, "Fine."

Bonnie grinned and opened her bedroom door before disappearing down the hallway to the bathroom.

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><p>They met up with Elena at The Grill later around 2pm.<p>

Elena had been looking better these days. After the originals were gone, she spent a few weeks at the lake house by herself. When she came back to Mystic Falls in time to graduate, there were still dark marks under her eyes and her lips were still set in a tight, grim line. Everyone had been through hell in the last 2 years, but Elena had lost so much family and her relationship with both Stefan and Damon were taking a long time to heal to get back into place.

But Elena looked good today. Her eyes were bright and she wore little make-up, but her skin still looked amazing. Bonnie even noted that she smiled and looked more expressive when she talked.

"I was thinking that we could all go out tonight." Elena said she sat up straighter and looked at Bonnie and Caroline. "It's been a while since we all hung out somewhere other than here at The Grill."

"That'd be great!" Bonnie exclaimed as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table.

"Wait." Caroline said, and Bonnie turned to see her frowning. "We have the werewolf thing with Stefan and Damon tonight."

"Oh, I forgot about that." Elena mumbled and looked down at her lap.

Bonnie sighed. "You know we don't like leaving you behind but -."

"I'm only human and I'll slow you guys down." Elena said with a shrug. "It's no big deal, I understand."

Caroline and Bonnie looked at each other and Caroline shrugged slightly.

"We can hang out on Friday." She offered weakly.

"That'll be great." Elena said, a smile slowly creeping back into her features. "Friday is the best day for hanging out anyway."

Bonnie nodded and smiled back. The tension was out of the air.

* * *

><p>Around 9pm, she and Caroline headed out to meet Stefan near the spot where the supposed were attack had happened.<p>

The full moon was high and the place really gave Bonnie the chills. But she felt immediately safer when Stefan and Damon stepped out of the shadows.

"Ladies." Damon greeted as he brushed some dirt off his clothes. "We scoped this area while you guys were taking your sweet little time getting here. Nothing but raccoons and another small things Stefan used to eat back in the day."

"Well something had to kill those campers." Bonnie said as she folded her arms. "And it wasn't a small animal."

"Uh, I know that." Damon said as he rolled his eyes and looked at her as if she was a petulant child. "I was about to suggest that we go deeper into the woods."

"You guys do snap at each other like you're an old, married couple." Caroline said under her breath as she picked her nails.

Damon sighed. "You told Blondie, didn't you?"

"Of course she told me. I'm her friend." Caroline said with a scowl. "How long were you guys planning on keeping your thing a secret?"

"A) It's none of your business what me and the witch get up to in our free time and, B) It's your own fault that that nosey information sniffing nose of yours didn't pick up on it sooner."

"Guys…" Bonnie tried as she started to feel a headache coming on. She looked at Stefan who had his back to them, staring off into the direction of the woods. She quickly looked away again when she remembered what happened last night.

"So what's your plan, Damon? Make your way through all three of us?"

Bonnie's jaw dropped and she stared at her. "Caroline!"

Damon smiled bitterly. "Well they always say in those self-help books that you have to keep aiming _higher_."

"Are you serious, Damon?" Bonnie asked him exasperatedly and he simply shrugged.

"You're a dick!" Caroline said as she kicked dirt at him and folded her arms.

Damon was about to respond, but Stefan interrupted him.

"Everyone be quiet."

Everyone was still, all three of them silently fuming at the other.

It was a few seconds before Damon spoke up. "I don't hear anything."

Stefan turned around. "I said shut -"

Suddenly a large grey _thing_ jumped out from the shadows and tackled Stefan to the ground when he turned his back.

The wolf and Stefan tumbled and rolled until the wolf had Stefan pinned under its weight. Damon acted quickly, running over to the wolf and grabbing its fur, pulling it until Stefan was able to get his legs under it to plant his feet in its abdomen and kick it back.

The wolf slammed into Caroline's car and whined like a dog as it got up again. Damon was about to go for the kill when another wolf slammed into him from the side and another one knocked Stefan back onto the ground.

"Are you kidding me?" Damon yelled as he struggled to get the upper hand and avoid the wolf's lethal bite.

Caroline's fangs bared themselves and she rushed over to help Stefan, who seemed to be struggling the most.

Bonnie turned around, adrenaline pumping hard, and looked at the first wolf that was now joined by another as they crept towards her slowly and dangerously.

Bonnie raised one of her hands and concentrated. She slammed her power into the wolves and sent them dropping to the ground with pained yowls.

Stefan was suddenly on top of one of the wounded wolves and before Bonnie even had time to flinch, he shoved his hand into its ribcage and pulled out its heart. He wasted no time doing the same to the other and Bonnie swallowed thickly at the sound.

Stefan rose up shakily and looked at Bonnie. His hands and face were coated with werewolf blood and his eyes gleamed with some sort of weird hunger or satisfaction. Bonnie couldn't tell. His fangs were still out and the veins under his eyes were protruded.

"You're not bitten anywhere, are you?" Bonnie asked as she took a step closer to him, and then hesitated.

"No." Stefan said.

Bonnie nodded and turned away to look at Caroline who was kneeling over Damon. Bonnie's stomach sank as she walked towards them. In the pale moonlight, she could see blood all over Damon's torn up arm.

"What's wrong with him? Is he bitten?" Bonnie asked shakily.

"I don't think so." Caroline said quickly as she looked up at Bonnie. "He's out cold. I think he may have knocked his head on something."

Bonnie knelt down beside him and looked at his arm. There was so much blood and she could see him healing. But it was too dark to see if any of those scratches and torn skin was a wolf bite.

Bonnie felt as if her stomach had gone up to her throat. She couldn't deny to herself that she was really fucking worried. There was no more Hybrid. If he got bitten, there was no known cure.

She reached down and touched where he hadn't been scratched or clawed at and then she hesitantly brushed her thumb against his palm.

Damon shifted.

Stefan crouched beside them and shook Damon gently. "Damon."

Damon's eyes fluttered and he opened them to look at everyone. "Is the fight over?"

Bonnie smiled beside herself.

"Guys…" Caroline said as she slowly turned around and stood up. "We have more wolf company."

Bonnie whipped her head around and dread filled her to the brim as she saw 3 more wolves come out of the bushes.

_Seriously, how big is this pack?_

"Take Damon to my car and lock the doors." Stefan said as he and Caroline stood straight, ready to fight.

"I'm not leaving you guys with three werewolves!" Bonnie said as she struggled to get up and get Damon on his feet.

Stefan turned around to stare at her. "Go!"

Then, the first werewolf leapt towards Caroline and she dodged out of the way, speeding off somewhere in the woods with the wolf chasing close behind.

Bonnie didn't waste any more time. She slung Damon's arm over her shoulder and tugged him towards the car.

"I can fight." Damon said as he started to struggle.

"You can't even fight me off. Stay still or we'll fall." She said when they reached the car without incident.

She opened the door and shoved Damon in the back seat. She then got in beside him and pulled the door shut.

Damon groaned beside her.

"Why aren't you healing faster?" Bonnie said as she checked his arm again. "You weren't bitten?"

"No," Damon said as he sat up. "I lost too much blood. The more blood we lose, the weaker we are."

Bonnie nodded in understanding. She felt a swell of relief to know that he wasn't bitten, but it was short lived because Stefan and Caroline were both still out there. "I'm going back out."

"Not alone." Damon said as he rose up and grabbed her t-shirt. "I'm coming with you."

"You need to stay here!" Bonnie protested as she placed a firm hand on his chest and pushed him back.

Damon was about to argue, but Bonnie assured him. "I'll be fine."

Damon stared at her for a moment before he let get and Bonnie squeezed his hand before getting out of the car and closing the door behind her.

She sprinted back to Caroline's car and saw that the area was completely clear with Stefan and Caroline out of sight. She thought about calling out, but immediately figured that would be a bad idea. She didn't want to draw the wrong attention.

Just as she was about to walk deeper into the woods, she heard a twig snap behind her. She turned around, almost tripping over he own feet. A shuffle of bushes to her left made her whip her head around again to scope out the area.

Then she saw another wolf, approaching from the. Its coat was pure black and it had bright yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the near darkness. It wasted no time leaping forward, out of the bushes and into the clearing with a growl. The sudden movement sent Bonnie stumbling back and her clumsy feet tripped on a big boulder.

Pain few up her ankle and she knew immediately that it was twisted, but she had no time to coddle it. The werewolf was coming closer and it leaped into the air and landed directly over her. It was now or never. If she didn't act now, she'd be torn limb from limb for sure.

Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she conjured up her magic, letting it run more on adrenaline and fear than concentration. She aimed it all at the wolf, which whined almost immediately and dropped down, shaking its head from side to side.

"Bonnie!" A deep voice called out from behind her.

Without thinking, Bonnie turned around and saw Stefan carrying a dead wolf over his shoulder. Before she could yell anything back, something hard and heavy slammed into the side of her head and then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Something warm and liquid was being pushed against her lips. It took her a few moments to realize that it was blood. She moved her head away from the taste.<p>

"_Bonnie, sweetie, please drink."_

It was Caroline. Was Caroline giving her her blood? How badly was she hurt? She felt pain all over and her limbs didn't feel right. But she trusted Caroline, so she drank. She drank until she could feel everything working right again and the pain in her back and head faded away. She opened her eyes expecting to see Caroline looking down at her, but it wasn't. It was—

"Stefan?"

Stefan was slumped over her and he looked tired and worried. He removed his arm away slowly and Bonnie raised her hands to her lips and pulled them away to stare at the blood with a mixture of horror and odd fascination.

Caroline's hand came to brush the hair out of her face. "Don't scare me like that again, ok?"

"Ok." Bonnie croaked out then almost gagged at the taste of blood at the back of her throat. She shifted to sit up and a hand settled on her waist, helping her along. She turned to look at Damon who had no more marks on his arm and the color seemed to be back in his skin.

"You said you were going to be fine." He said and Bonnie shrugged.

"Well I'm a witch, not a fortuneteller." Bonnie said. "I can't always be right about the future."

"Glad to see you're still yourself." Damon said as he stood up and extended a hand for her to do the same.

Bonnie took it and Damon pulled her up, straight into a kiss. Surprising herself, Bonnie kissed him back almost immediately with the same slow, languid pace that had never existed between them.

She pulled back first to breathe. Her head was spinning and she had to steady herself against him. Damon didn't say anything. He just stared at her as if he was waiting for some kind of reaction.

Bonnie didn't have anything for him. She didn't know what he wanted. She didn't know what **she** wanted. Feelings were slowly getting involved. Bonnie knew it was concrete the second she thought Damon got bitten by that werewolf.

Bonnie took a step back. She suddenly needed space.

"Damon…" She started when his gaze had become _too_ much.

Damon only shook his head. "No need for the speech. It was just one of those 'heat of the moment' things. It meant nothing."

Bonnie looked up at him and caught the red smear of blood on his lips. She turned to Stefan, who was slumped over by the car next to Caroline. They were both watching them. She raised her hand self-consciously to wipe the remainder of Stefan's blood from around her mouth.

"We'll talk about it when we get back to the boarding house." Bonnie said when she turned to look back at Damon.

He shrugged. "There's nothing really to talk about."

The words singed the air and Bonnie imagined a dam in Damon closing back up, keeping whatever he felt inside. She wanted to say 'yes there is', but the words didn't leave her mouth.

When Damon turned and headed back to the car, Bonnie knew then and there that she should have said something, anything, because Damon would go back to his normal self tomorrow and it'll be like that kiss or moment never happened. Since she was the first one to say _'This means nothing'_, since the sex had become a regular thing, she didn't know why she particularly cared what his feelings were. But she did and she'd have to think about that.

When Damon had disappeared, Stefan turned to follow him but Bonnie stopped him.

"Thank you for what you did for me tonight. You saved my life."

"It's what friends do." Stefan said simply. His eyes were averted and he barely glanced her way. Bonnie didn't really feel like she could make eye contact with him either. The things Damon had said to her last night… Stefan heard it all. Bonnie flushed at the thought.

"Drive safe." Stefan said before he waved to Caroline and walked off.

Bonnie stood there, rooted to the spot until Caroline came to stand beside her. She hooked her arm in Bonnie's and tugged her slightly.

"You can stay at my house." She said as they walked to her car, which had a dent and a large dead werewolf next to it.

"Thanks."

* * *

><p><em><strong>I've already started working on the next chapter and I'm honestly already excited for you guys to read it.<strong>_

**_It may be shorter than this one, but it's going to be intense_.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Damon ignored her texts for a day. It's not a particular long time to not speak to someone, but Bonnie thought this thing between them needed to be worked out and she was getting impatient. Besides, Damon never ignored her texts. He always responded.

She drove over to the Boarding house on the morning of the second day. Stefan answered the door when she rang the doorbell.

"Hey." He greeted her, opening the door wider for her to come in.

"Hey." Bonnie said, walking in and heading for the sitting area. "Is Damon here?"

"Uh, yeah." Stefan said with a motion to the stairs. "He's in his room."

"Thanks." Bonnie said as she headed for the stairs. When she looked up, Damon was standing there, string down at her. Her steps faltered.

"Damon."

"Bonnie." Damon replied and descended down the stairs.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "I'm sorry for the unexpected visit. Maybe if you'd answered my texts…"

Damon smiled. "I was busy."

Bonnie folded her arms are glared at him. She knew he was going to do this. She knew he would go back to being his cocky self and try to pretend that the weird moment they had 2 nights ago had never happened.

"Listen," Bonnie started, but her words hesitated in her throat. She didn't know how to go about explaining how she felt. Hell, she didn't even _know_ how she felt.

"Bonnie," Damon said as he descended down the stairs and came to stop in front of her. "Just forget it. Like you said; this," he motioned between them, "means nothing, right?"

Bonnie hesitated and opened her mouth to complain, but Damon cut her off.

"Right?" He promoted.

Bonnie sighed and gave up. "Right."

Bonnie wondered what she expected. Suppose he did have feelings and he admitted them. Then what? Where do they go from there? She was certain that she didn't want a relationship with him. Damon had more emotional baggage than a Jerry Springer guest and that didn't go for good relationships. But at least if they were both having _feelings_, then they should talk about them like adults.

Damon made it clear that that wasn't going to happen, though. He was way over a century and he still handled his issues like a teenager. The thought made Bonnie smile beside herself.

"Something funny?" Damon said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Bonnie shook her head. "No. I'm gonna go."

Damon pursed his lips and squinted at her and Bonnie was suddenly and unexplainably irritated with his face.

"Well, ok." He said with a shrug. "Thanks for the visit. Drop by anytime you like."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and turned to head for the door. Stefan was standing by the doorway with his arms folded, a broody expression on his face.

"Everything ok?" He asked as he looked past her and at Damon who was sporting a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah, Stefan. Everything's fine." Bonnie said as she opened the front door. "I'll see to you later."

Stefan only nodded and he and Damon were so wrapped up in staring each other down that Bonnie thought one of them was going to burst into flames from the intensity of it.

"_Okay."_ She mumbled under her breath as she let herself out. Maybe they had an argument before she got there. It happened often and sometimes they wouldn't talk for a couple days, choosing to only communicate through glares. Normal Salvatore routine. Bonnie decided to stay out of it.

* * *

><p>She didn't see Damon again until that Friday at James Michael Chase's party.<p>

Ok, so Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie didn't _intend_ on going to a high school party when they decided to hang out together, but they figured _what the heck_. There was beer, music, and people they actually knew and liked.

And James Michael Chase (the soccer player who was a year younger than them and had cute cartoon hearts in his eyes whenever he saw Caroline) invited Matt and asked him to extend the invitation to Caroline and co. Matt couldn't go, but they could. Bonnie got dressed up (well, as dressed up as you could get for a high school party) and headed out.

She could hear the music from blocks away. The fast, rhythmic pumping that got louder as she pulled up and stopped on the next street over. As she got out of the car, she heard a chime from her phone signaling a new text message. She pulled it out of her bag to look at it. The message was from Caroline telling her that she and Elena were waiting for her by the mailbox. Slipping the phone back into her bag, she set out to find them.

It wasn't hard to spot Caroline amongst the massive set of people buzzing around her dancing and laughing. She was wearing a silky teal top and a skirt so short that Bonnie was sure she was going to get propositioned by all of the heterosexual guys at the party. Bonnie saw Elena next, dressed down in a simple tank top and jeans. They each had a red plastic cup in their hands and Bonnie was about to chastise them for starting to drink without her when one of the guys next to them turned around and looked up.

"Bonnie." Damon said, causing Caroline and Elena to notice her walking towards them.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Damon spread out his arms and shrugged. "It's not a party unless I'm here."

Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie gave him identical exasperated looks.

"What is with you vampires and teenage parties?" Bonnie asked she stopped next to Elena.

"Hey!" Caroline snapped.

"Not you, Caroline." Bonnie said as she looked at Damon. "I meant the old ones."

"Pfft." Damon said flippantly. "I'm forever 24."

"Well, I am not going to stand around and listen to you two bicker." Caroline said as she handed Bonnie her cup. "I look cute and I'm going to go dance. You know where to find me."

And with that and a flip of her hair, she was gone, getting lost in the crowd of people as she made her way deeper into the party.

"And I'm going to get some punch." Elena said as she turned to leave.

"It's spiked. You might as well get another beer." Damon offered.

Elena mumbled something under her breath that sounded like 'OK', and she was off too, leaving Bonnie alone with Damon.

"These parties are overrated. The music isn't even good." Damon muttered.

Bonnie chuckled. "If you only came here to grumble like an old guy, why did you even come?"

"Stefan's being a bitch and The Grill is dead. Everyone in this town between the ages of 16-25 seems to be here tonight."

Bonnie shrugged. "Well, I'm sure there were lots of other places out of town you could have gone."

Damon turned to look at her. "Is my presence bothering you, Judgey?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "No. You can go wherever you want. You're a free man."

"Stefan didn't think I should have come either."

"Why not."

"Because Elena's here and you're here."

"What do I have to do with anything?" Bonnie asked, turning to look at him.

Damon smiled. "For some reason, my baby brother thinks that I'm leading you astray and that this will end in your teenage heartbreak." He paused and looked at a girl who was walking by and smiled at her when she turned back to reveal a blush on her cheek. "Stefan's very old school."

Bonnie cocked an eyebrow and took a sip out of Caroline's cup. "How long have you guys been arguing over this?"

"Since the night I fucked you and made you cum while thinking about my brother."

Bonnie, who was in the middle of another sip, sputtered and almost choked. When she got her ability to breathe back, she looked around to make sure no one was listening. "What the hell, Damon?"

Damon was looking down at her with bright blue eyes and Bonnie was so tempted to use her magic on him and wipe that smirk off his face. Instead she jabbed him in the ribs **hard** with her elbow and turned to leave when he doubled over.

"Hey, hey!" Damon said as he reached out and grabbed her elbow. He was still smiling. In fact, he was starting to _laugh_.

Bonnie struggled to pull her elbow out of his grasp. "Let me go, Damon, or I swear to **God** –"

"Am I interrupting something?" Caroline asked as she approached them, looking a bit sweaty and a bit tipsy already.

Damon's grip slackened enough for Bonnie to pull free.

"No." Bonnie said quickly, then shot Damon an annoyed glance. "Damon's just being a dick."

"Grass is green, sky is blue." Caroline said as she glanced at Damon. "What's new."

"Ouch!" Damon said with mock hurt.

"Come on, Bonnie." Caroline said as she started to pull Bonnie away. "We're here to dance and have fun, not stand on the sidelines."

As she was pulled away, she turned back to see Damon's eyes already on another girl, the same one he'd checked out earlier. She was at his side now, her delicate hand on his shoulder. Bonnie was only gone for about 30 seconds. It was like she couldn't wait for him to be alone.

Turning her head forward as Caroline continued to drag her to where the music was loudest, Bonnie expected to feel jealous, but she didn't. Maybe it was because she honestly had no right to be. He wasn't her boyfriend.

* * *

><p>They met up with Elena and the three of them, buzzed with alcohol, dance to the loud, deep bass music that pumped throughout the whole property.<p>

After about a half hour, James Michael Chase, who had been staring at Caroline since she got there, finally worked up the nerve to ask her to dance. Elena was asked next by a guy who worked at The Grill with Matt, and soon a guy with sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes asked Bonnie.

The guy (she learned that his name was Peter) was not a good dancer. After he and Bonnie bumped into each other for about the 15th time, they decided that they should just sit and take a break. He reminded her of Jeremy, almost. The sweetness on his face and the shy/awkward way he tried to make conversation. Bonnie decided that she liked Peter.

A few minutes into their conversation, a shadow fell over Peter's face and he looked up and faltered on the story he was telling Bonnie. Bonnie turned around to see what had gotten Peter attention and looked straight at Damon.

"Wanna dance?" He asked as he held out a hand.

"I'm kinda in the middle of a conversation." Bonnie said as she shook her head.

"No, it's ok." Peter said as he held up his hands. "By all means, it's a party. I can finish the story another time."

"Are you sure? I mean –"

"I'm sure, Bonnie." Peter said with a wide smile. "I'll see you around."

Bonnie sighed. Damon was sporting a cocky smile when Bonnie turned to look at him. His outstretched hand beckoned her forward and Bonnie took it hesitantly, allowing Damon to drag her back into the middle of the dancing crowd.

Bonnie looked on with mild amusement as Damon came to halt and held his hands up in the air, swiveling his hips.

"Are you serious?" Bonnie asked, her voice almost drowned out in the music.

"I've had years to practice." Damon yelled over the music as he continued moving with the song. "I'm a pro at dancing, honey."

He moved in, reaching out to pull her closer by her hand. Bonnie laughed as Damon spun them around.

"C'mon, Bonnie." Damon said as he moved up behind her. "I've seen you dance before. Remember that disastrous 60's dance?"

Bonnie had started to sway with him. The upbeat music had slowed down a bit. It wasn't exactly slow dance music but she and Damon were just rocking side to side, slow and steady.

"How could I forget?" Bonnie said as Damon wrapped a hand around her waist.

The position they were in matched the 60's dance almost to a T. They were pressed a lot closer now and the music was raunchier, but it was still like déjà vu almost.

"So where's the girl you were talking to earlier?" Bonnie asked despite herself.

"She was boring." Damon said with a sigh. "She went on and on about how drunk she was. I think she was trying to get me to have sex with her."

"And you didn't?" Bonnie asked as she turned in his arms to look at him. "Well color me surprised."

"I do have standards, thank you very much." Damon said, taking a step back and starting to do a dance he probably learned in the 70s. "What about the Debate Team captain?"

"Peter?" Bonnie asked as she began to dance to the music as well. "He's not on the Debate Team!"

"How do you know?" Damon asked and raised his hands up in the air again. "Did you guys swap life stories?"

"It's none of your business." Bonnie replied easily. "Don't you have some girl to chase into your sheets tonight?"

Damon leaned closer so that his lips grazed Bonnie's ear. "Only one."

He stepped back and Bonnie caught the heat in his gaze. She smiled and stepped closer to him, standing on her toes until she was close enough for him to definitely feel her breath on the side of his face.

"Not tonight, Damon." She half whispered into his ear. She stepped back, feeling a little smug. "I'm going to find Elena and Caroline. Thanks for the dance."

With that she brushed past him, feeling his eyes on her back as she retreated.

* * *

><p>It took her a while to find Caroline and Elena. They were inside the house, buried in a crowd of people playing beer pong. Elena and Caroline greeted her with more red plastic cups, urging her to drink so she could get as buzzed as they were.<p>

After a few drinks, Bonnie excused herself to use the bathroom. She stumbled up the stairs, checking about 100 rooms before she found the bathroom which was thankfully empty. When she was finished using it and after she fixed what she could of her appearance in the mirror, she headed out. As soon as she opened the door, Damon's smiling face greeted her.

Bonnie jumped at first then fixed Damon with a steely expression. "Please don't tell me you've been standing out there this whole time. It's creepy."

"Nope." Damon said. "Caroline literally just told me where you were. How much have you had to drink? You look rosy."

"None of your business. I'm an adult." Bonnie said as Damon entered the bathroom.

"You're 18." Damon said as he locked the door behind him. "You're a baby."

Bonnie looked around and folded her arms. "Unlock the door. I'm not having sex with you in a bathroom at a party."

"It should be on every woman's to-do list." Damon said as he stepped closer. "The chance of being caught is exciting and sexy all that. I read it in a Cosmopolitan."

Bonnie smiled. "Cosmopolitan?"

"Yes." Damon said as he reached out and touched her waist. "It's a very educational magazine."

Bonnie laughed as Damon picked her up and walked them over to the counter by the sink. "You're full of shit."

Damon put her down and settled between her dangling legs. He groaned as he flushed himself against her completely, rocking his body into hers and making her feel the hard outline of his cock. Bonnie must have had too much to drink because when Damon looked up at her, eyes icy hard and blue heat, Bonnie surged forward and crashed their lips together.

Damon's hand found their way under her skirt and got a grip of her panties, pulling them down and almost off, leaving them hanging on her leg.

Bonnie pulled away from his mouth to breathe into his ear. Damon lowered his lips, mouthing at her upturned chin and sliding down to her neck as his hands worked at unbuttoning his jeans. Bonnie bucked up and whined and only had a second to wonder what the fuck she was doing before Damon's hand slid up her thigh and pulled her almost clear off the counter.

He slot their lips together again and kissed Bonnie as if he was _starved_. He then pushed into her with so much coordination and precision that, in the back of her mind, Bonnie wondered how the fuck he stayed so calm while she was feeling like she was going to burn.

Her hands reached behind him and clawed at his black shirt uselessly, hanging onto him as if she was drowning and he was life. He pulled back to look at her through heavy lidded eyes as he started thrusting shallowly at first, then he pushed her up further against the sink, bracing one hand on the mirror above her head, and slid in deeper. One of Bonnie's shows fell off as she hooked her leg around his waist, hanging on for dear life as he began to thrust harder and faster in time with the beat of the music pounding outside the door.

His lips moved against her neck, kissing and biting, but never breaking the skin. The slight pain mixed with the extremely pleasure made Bonnie buck and keen before cumming so hard that her vision whited out and she all but collapsed into him.

"What was that, like 5 minutes? That was a record." Damon said when she was able to see again. "Too much for you, Bennett?"

"Screw you." She panted as she leaned back and dropped her leg down.

Damon smirked, holding eye contact with her as he began to thrust again, slow and deep. Bonnie raised her hand to brush back his hair from his face. He was cool to the touch. He wasn't even working up a sweat like Bonnie was. He was calm and a little slack jawed as he looked at her. Bonnie was never ashamed of her body, but the way Damon looked at her then, even when she was completely clothed except for her underwear, made her blush.

Damon licked his lips and his pink tongue caught Bonnie's eyes. She leaned forward, closing her eyes against his gaze and kissed him again. He moved her back until her back was pressed fully against the mirror. His hand trailed up her leg and under her skirt, pushing it up higher, making it more obscene. Bonnie groaned into the kiss as she started to feel another orgasm closing in on her.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and before Bonnie could even flinch, Elena and Caroline came bounding in, giggling and holding each other's hands for support.

"What's taking you so long, Bonnie? We've been-" Elena froze and the cup she was holding slipped out of her hand dropped to the floor. Beer spilled everywhere and the smiles from Elena and Caroline's face slipped away.

"Shit!" Damon groaned, pulling out and stepping back, fumbling with his jeans. Bonnie's vision swayed and the only thing her brain would let her do was gape like a fucking idiot and make a half-hearted attempt to pull down her skirt.

Elena looked from Damon back to Bonnie, her eyes wide and shiny, the last of her previously felt happiness melting away from her face like heated butter.

Bonnie slid off the counter. Her legs were unsteady and she had to lean back against the sink to keep her knees from buckling.

Elena shook her head, turned on her heels, and left the bathroom without a word.

Bonnie wasted no time pulling up her underwear (an act that made her feel incredibly dirty) and following her out. The party goers in the hallway were standing around talking, dancing, and drinking and Bonnie felt as if she was in a video game as she dodged and maneuvered around them to get to Elena's retreating back.

"Elena!" Bonnie called out when Elena had reached the front door and went outside. Bonnie followed her through the front yard, around kissing couples and beer pong championships. She was still barefoot and she hoped that the liquids she had been stepping in wasn't puke.

By the time Elena reached the front gate, Bonnie was tired and her heart was hammering in her chest.

"Elena!" She tried again. "Stop, just listen to me!"

Elena stopped abruptly and turned around. "How long?"

Bonnie stopped a few feet away from her and panted. "A little over 2 months."

Elena shook her head and looked up at the sky. "I can't believe this."

Bonnie's eyes burned. "I should have told you, Elena. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"If I didn't find out myself, were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of course I was!" Bonnie said. "I was just looking for the right time…"

"You know how I feel about him!" Elena said and Bonnie felt her words like a slap in the face. Her guilt was starting to make way for anger now.

"No, Elena!" Bonnie said, still calm, but her voice had taken an edge. "I didn't! You told me you didn't want a relationship with either of them anymore! It's been a year!"

"But I still have feelings for them." Elena said as she blinked her eyes rapidly as if she was willing her tears not to fall. "The feelings aren't gone."

"Well, I think I have feelings for Damon, too." Bonnie admitted to both herself and Elena.

Elena fell silent and looked down at her hand. The air between them to sizzle and calm before she spoke up again. "I just thought he'd wait for me. He told me he'd wait."

Bonnie didn't know how to respond to that. If Damon was waiting for Elena, then Bonnie was probably an interlude for him. Something to pass the time with while Elena made up her mind. She and Damon did agree that it wasn't a relationship, so she shouldn't have been angry or sad. Not really.

Elena was sniffling now and Bonnie honestly felt like crying too. But she didn't.

"Are we fighting over _Damon Salvatore_?" She asked herself more than Elena. "This feels surreal."

"I'm not mad at you." Elena said, but Bonnie knew she was lying. "I just need some time. Alone."

Bonnie nodded and Elena turned away and walked steadily up the street, towards her house. Bonnie watched her until she was nothing but a small dot far up the road. When she was out of sight, Bonnie let out a chocked sob and buried her face in her hands. She felt as if she had just lost her best friend. Over a _guy_, to make things worse.

About a minute later, she felt a hand on her back. She turned around to see Caroline, a worried expression on her face.

She had Bonnie's purse in one hand and Elena's jacket in the next.

"Can we go?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah." Caroline said as she handed her her purse.

Bonnie didn't even want to go back to the bathroom and get her shoes. They were the least of her worries anyway.

They walked to their cars in silence. Bonnie could tell Caroline was glancing at her from the corner of her eyes and she wanted to ask her to stop, but she didn't. She just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and wait for an appropriate time to call Elena.

When they reached Bonnie's car, Damon was already there, leaned up against the side of the trunk.

Bonnie's shoes were dangling in his hands and he held them up to her. She walked over to him wordlessly and took them, averting her eyes as he stared at her. The moment was tense and awkward.

"Do you want me to ride with you?" Caroline asked, speaking to Bonnie but looking at Damon as if she was expecting him to grab Bonnie and run off.

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "I'm fine. I'll call you later."

"Well," Caroline said, looking at her. "Ok. I'll call Elena."

Bonnie nodded. Caroline hugged her for a long time and rubbed her shoulder. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Bonnie said, and then Caroline was walking back to her own car.

When Caroline was gone, Damon spoke up. "You're drunk. You shouldn't drive."

"I can call Matt, he'll give me a ride." Bonnie said she bent down and started putting her shoes back on.

"I'll drive you home." Damon said as he turned to walk towards his car.

"No thanks." Bonnie mumbled.

"Ok." Damon said as he stopped and turned to look at her. His clothes were disheveled and Bonnie imagined that she looked no better.

"Damon, I can't do this." Bonnie said suddenly, looking directly at him. "I can't lose Elena over this."

"What does this have to do with Elena?" Damon snapped, making Bonnie flinch.

"Everything!" Bonnie snapped back, suddenly angry. "Did you tell her that you were going to wait for her?"

Damon hesitated then said, "I did."

"And are you?" Bonnie asked. "Are you still waiting for Elena?"

She got no answer, so she went on. "And what if she decided that she wanted you right here, right now?"

"Why do you care, Bonnie?" Damon asked, nostrils flaring. "It's just sex for you, isn't it?"

"I care because she's my best friend and she apparently still loves you!" Bonnie knew it wasn't the whole truth, but she still wasn't prepared to tell Damon more than that right now. Not when Elena was still a factor. "And I'm not going to be your side-project while you're waiting for Elena to make up her fucking mind!"

Bonnie's loud words seemed to echo up and down the street. She was heaving, now; panting out harsh breaths and made her body move rigidly.

They stared at each other, both angry and annoyed and _tired_.

Damon took a step towards her but Bonnie held her hand up, not wanting him to touch her.

"We can't do this anymore." Bonnie said quietly. "It's getting to be too much and I'm not going to ruin my friendship with Elena over this. I refuse."

Damon hesitated, but finally, he muttered out a dark '_Fine'_, and was gone before Bonnie could even blink.

Bonnie opened her car door and slid slowly into the backseat. She dropped her head on the back of the front seat and seriously contemplated whether she wanted to cry now or wait until she was in the comfort and privacy of her own home. A few minutes passed with Bonnie's face buried into the car's leather seats before her phone started ringing. She fished around her bag for it before she pulled it out and checked the caller I.D. It was Stefan.

Bonnie answered on the 3rd ring. "Hello?"

_"Hey, Bonnie."_ Stefan said on the other line. _"Damon said you needed a ride?"_

* * *

><p><em>There you go! Hope you guys liked this chapter. Let me know what you think! :)<em>

_Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites that you guys have been giving me. I appreciate them all so, so much._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

By the time Damon got to the boarding house, the place was empty and Stefan's car was gone. Good. He had at least a good 30 minutes before his brother would be back with a disapproving look in his eyes and questions on his lips.

Damon marched through the door, slamming it shut and flicking on the lights with more force than was necessary. He was livid. White-hot anger made his body tense and the blood under his skin boil and sizzle. He wanted to break something, anything. Maybe _anyone_.

_No._

He quickly chased the thoughts of blood and bones breaking under his fingers out of his head. He wasn't that guy anymore. He promised…

He promised Elena.

The frustration built up inside him like an air balloon about to pop. He grabbed the first thing his hand came in contact with – a vase – and threw it across the room, smashing it into a dozen pieces that he knew Stefan would scowl and complain about when he got home.

'_Why are you so angry?' _A voice in his head asked him. '_Because you lost Elena again? Probably for good this time?'_

He thought about Elena as he walked over to the bar to pour himself a drink.

He loves her, there's no denying that. He loves her more than he ever loved Katherine. Because she was like Katherine, but so much gentler. So much… brighter in contrast to Katherine's darkness. Softness, compared to her hardness.

He told her he'd wait however long it took to completely get her heart. He told her he'd even wait until she was old and grey and needed a walker to go out on dates with him. Elena laughed when he said that. A real honest laugh that made his heart swell a little because he _put that smile __**there**_.

That was a year ago. Klaus is long dead and his family is long gone. The remaining hybrids that they could find who would definitely pose a threat to humans were personally killed by he and Stefan. Life went on and during the 11th month or so, waiting forever seemed to be an impossible task. Especially since he and Elena seemed to have drifted away. They barely spoke these days. Their conversations were reduced to texts and the memory of how they used to lie in bed and comfort each other when Stefan went wayward seemed like a distant dream and not something that actually happened.

Somewhere along the line, he got tired of waiting. And even the sight of Elena these days didn't make him have those annoying, pesky lovey dovey feelings anymore. But he still loved her. You never stop loving someone like that. He'll never stop loving Stefan, no matter what. And his feelings for Katherine will never go away, despite him knowing that he'd never go down that fucking road **ever again**. His father was a dick and he's as dead as a doornail, but he loved him just as much as he hated him.

But Damon knew that when you fall in love, you can fall out of it. It's not a one way tunnel and some people don't keep falling forever. Sometimes people fall out at the end and they hit the ground, snapping them out of it.

"_Are you still waiting for Elena?" _Bonnie's voice echoed in his head. _"And what if she decided that she wanted you right here, right now?"_

He was conflicted. Damon didn't like being conflicted.

He thought about Bonnie, then, and the months preceding to this night. Damon knew he didn't love her and he knew that she didn't love him. But he did care for her. He'd known that fact since the moment at the 60's dance where, for a second, he thought the spell didn't really work and she was really dead.

He also respected her a great deal. At first, he had no choice but to respect her because while he was quicker and stronger, she was a witch. A Bennett witch at that. That made her more powerful than more than half of the witches he'd encountered.

Now, he respected her automatically. After seeing what she had done for him, Elena, and his brother, how could he not? Damon was a dick, but he wasn't _that_ much of a dick. He had to give credit where it was due.

She still annoyed him, though. Not as much as she used to a year ago, but still. It's _Bonnie_. They're too different to attract and too alike to repel.

Sometimes he catches himself thinking about her. In a non-sexual way. Like what she was doing, or if he was doing something stupid, he'd wonder what snarky comments she'd made if she was there to see him. When Stefan went into one of his guilt ridden recluses and refused to talk to him (he did that sometimes when the nightmares of screaming faces and hot blood in his throat wakes him up in a cold sweat), he'd wonder what advice Bonnie would give him if he wasn't too proud to ask.

He thinks about her sexually, too. Of course he does. Those thoughts came before the sentimental ones, naturally. Whenever he catches a whiff of her shampoo on his bed, he thinks about what they did to get her smell there in the first place. When she wears skirts, he imagines walking up to her, whether it's in public or not, and sliding his hands up her thighs and between her legs and just bringing her off right there. When they fucked, he imagined biting her, getting that one intimate sip of the hot blood rushing under her skin as she tangles her hand in his hair and begs him to continue.

He doesn't think Bonnie knows how hard he's been trying not to bite her lately, whenever they had sex. That her breathy panting and the sight of her smooth, naked skin made his fangs ache and pulse to get out and just sink themselves into her and make him – both of them – fall head first into oblivion.

"When did this happen?" Damon asked himself out loud as he drained his 3rd glass of brown alcohol.

He had no answers for himself and it made him want to pull his fucking hair out.

* * *

><p>On the 6th glass, Stefan came through the door. He threw his keys in the key bowl and stopped when he saw the shattered vase across the room.<p>

"Really, Damon?" Stefan asked as he turned to get the broom. "We're breaking things again?"

Damon only shrugged and closed his eyes and only opened them again when Stefan returned with a broom and a dustpan and began sweeping up the mess while shaking his head and probably chiding Damon like a child in his head. When he was finished, he dumped all the trash in the kitchen waste bin and came back to lean against the couch and stare at Damon.

"What?" Damon asked lazily. He knew 'the talk' was coming.

"Bonnie seemed pretty upset when I dropped her home." Stefan said as he folded his arms.

Damon turned to look at him. He wasn't nearly drunk enough to pour his heart out, but he wasn't sober enough to tell Stefan to fuck off and mind his own goddamn business. He weighed his options.

"She had a fight with Elena." He said finally.

Stefan nodded and calmly sat down on the opposite couch. "And you didn't have anything to do with it, Damon?"

"Of course I did." Damon snapped. "Just like you said I would. You were right, Stefan, are you happy?"

"No, I'm not happy." Stefan said before he leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees. "Of course I'm not happy, but I warned you…"

"How was I supposed to know Elena was going to find out about it?" Damon said, growing increasingly fed up with the conversation already. "Besides, what happened between Bonnie and I is our business. Not yours, and definitely not Elena's, so I'd appreciate it if you stay out of it."

"You know how I hate to pry, Damon, but Elena is important to me and I consider Bonnie a friend and it won't sit right with me to stand by and let you hurt them."

Damon sputtered and stared at Stefan who was sitting annoyingly calm and collected while Damon's skull was starting to burn. "Hurt them?"

He laughed then, because the alcohol made it funnier and he couldn't believe the nerve of his fucking brother right now.

"What, do you think I'm trying to be Damon Salvawhore, The Vampire Gigolo?" Damon asked as he reached to pour himself another drink, but the bottle was now empty. "You think so low of me."

Stefan frowned and his eyebrows knitted together. "So Bonnie isn't one of your conquests?"

"There doesn't need to be a dark ulterior motive to everything I do, brother." Damon sighed. "I didn't _plan_ on sleeping with her, it just _happened_. And kept on happening."

"That night." Stefan said, averting his eyes a little, showing that he was a little uncomfortable. "The night it stormed and you guys…"

Damon narrowed his eyes and looked at his brother. Really looked at him. Taking in his rigid shoulders and twitchy eyes. "You mean the night when you found out?"

"Yes." Stefan said, staring at the wall behind Damon as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Why did you do it?"

Damon smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Do what?"

Stefan rolled his eyes and looked at his brother exasperatedly. "Why did you say those things while you knew I could hear?"

Damon shrugged, still smiling. "I don't know. She seemed to like it."

Stefan's eyes widened and he looked **so** uncomfortable that Damon thought his cheeks were going to catch fire.

_Such a prude._

"You weren't saying those things to prove a point or anything?" Stefan asked. "Or to, I don't know, annoy me?"

Damon furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, no. I was just using you to see how far she'd let me go. It was pretty far since she went off like a rocket. You should be proud that your name has that affect on women."

Stefan looked away and Damon felt like saying more, just to watch his brother squirm, but he didn't. He only sighed and got up to get another bottle of liquor.

"But don't worry, Stefan." Damon said. "You never have to hear the grownups have sex again because we're not doing it anymore. I got dumped."

"You didn't technically get dumped because you were never dating." Stefan said in a way that Damon thought was either condescending or trying and failing to be helpful.

"Right." Damon said as he poured himself a glass and another for Stefan. "Now, I wouldn't be pissed if you played Savior Stefan tonight and dried Elena's tears like I assumed you did Bonnie's when you picked her up."

"Bonnie wasn't crying." Stefan said as Damon walked towards him and handed him the glass. "And you know as well as I do that Elena and I are apart for the foreseeable future. Why do you still bring her up when you know how much I don't like to talk about her?"

Damon regarded his brother silently for a moment before he lifted his glass to his lips and took a long sip. They drank in silence for a while before Stefan spoke up again. "I agree that's it's none of my business what you and Bonnie do with your lives, but if you're leading her on to only drop her soon, you should stop while you're ahead."

"I wasn't leading her on. We were just having sex." Damon responded flatly as if he was saying a repeated and rehearsed line that he was tired of.

Stefan turned to look at him before he placed his hand on his shoulder. "You keep saying that, but I'm your brother, Damon, and I know you better than anyone else in this entire world. I know you have feelings for her. They may not be strong feelings, but they're still feelings."

Damon opened his mouth to deny, but Stefan interrupted him.

"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me." Stefan said. "I think you should talk to her and talk to Elena."

"How am I supposed to voice my feelings to them if I don't even know how I feel, Stefan?" Damon asked. He wanted to sound annoyed, but a small part of him hoped Stefan had an answer he could work with.

"It's better than nothing." Stefan said with a shrug. "We know better than everyone what a lack of honesty and communication can do to people."

"I cannot be you." Damon said, agitated and not nearly as drank as he'd rather be. "I don't talk about these things."

"When has burying your feelings ever helped you, Damon?" Stefan asked.

Damon stayed silent because he was _so done_ with this Oprah moment.

Stefan got the hint. With a long, drawn out sigh, he patted Damon on the shoulder before he got up to leave him sitting alone in the living room.

Damon pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the contacts. He hovered over Bonnie's name for a few seconds before he switched off the screen.

* * *

><p>For the next week and a half, Damon didn't hear anything from Elena or Bonnie. It was like they'd both fallen off the face of the earth.<p>

"Do you want to tell me what's going on with you and Elena?" Alaric asked one evening when he met him for a round of drinks. It was a Friday and the bar was full to the brim. Alaric had tons of papers to grade, but he needed a break and since drinking alone was depressing, he invited Damon.

"Nothing." Damon replied and it wasn't far from the truth. They weren't speaking and they haven't seen each other since the party.

"Really?" Alaric asked as he ordered two drinks, both for himself. "She's been moping and I've learned that since there are no life or death situations to cry over anymore, there must be boy troubles."

Damon sighed and took one of Alaric's drinks when they arrived. "Maybe she's going through one of those teenager things. How do you know I have anything to do with it? She is into Stefan, too, you know."

"I overheard her talking to Caroline." Alaric said. "I didn't hear anything about Stefan, but I heard a lot of '_Damon this, Damon that_'."

"You eavesdrop on teenage girl conversations?" Damon asked as he shook his head. "Creepy."

"Damon." Alaric prompted. "Don't change the subject. Whatever it is, I can probably help."

Damon drained his glass and was about to tell Alaric that he wasn't up for girl talk, when he spotted an unmistakable blonde head coming through the door.

"I'll be right back." Damon said as he put his glass down and made his way over to where Caroline was searching the evening crowd.

"Caroline!" Damon called out and she turned around with a big, bright smile that quickly faded when she realized who had called her name.

"Oh, it's you." Caroline said as she frowned and folded her arms. "What do you want? I'm busy."

"Who are you looking for?" Damon asked, only mildly curious.

"Matt." Caroline said as she walked off towards the sitting area. "His shift starts in a half hour and he's usually here a few minutes early…"

"Are you stalking the jock again?" Damon asked.

Caroline frowned at him and sat down at an empty table. "What do you want, Damon?"

Damon sat down in the opposite chair without being offered. "Just wanted to chit-chat, that's all."

"Bullshit." Caroline said bluntly. "You're just here to quiz me on Elena and Bonnie and before you get started, I feel like you should know that I don't support your conquest with my two best friends."

"Ouch." Damon said, and then narrowed his eyes. "I'm not on a conquest."

"Yeah, right." Caroline mumbled. "Look, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, things would be better for them if you just left them alone."

"You make it sound like I'm a leper."

"Do you plan on being with Elena?" Caroline asked abruptly. "Because if you do, then you're an ass for fucking her best friend."

Damon glowered at her.

"And if you don't and you plan on being with Bonnie, then you're a dick for giving Elena false hope... and fucking her best friend."

"You don't know the whole story." Damon snapped, causing Caroline to flinch. He lowered his voice again. "She keeps me dangling by a thread for a year and when I'm ready to move on, she gets hurt? Look me in the eye and tell me that's not selfish, I dare you."

Caroline stared at him for a while, then sighed. "I can see where you're coming from. But honestly, Damon, if you don't want to be with her anymore, then you should tell her. And if you want to be with Bonnie, you should tell her that, too."

"But, I don't want to be with Bonnie." Damon said and he honestly couldn't tell if he meant that or not.

"Good, because she doesn't want to be with you, either." Caroline said with a backhanded sweet smile.

"She told you that?" Damon asked, suddenly mildly offended.

"Maybe." Caroline said. "Look, I don't care and I'd really like to not be talking to you about this right now. This isn't my soap opera."

Damon sighed.

"Thank you, Caroline. You're been a huge, judge-free help." He said sarcastically.

Caroline waved him off as Damon headed back to the bar where Alaric was sitting, nursing his glass of scotch.

Damon put a few bills on the counter as the bartender walked up to him to get his order. "Bourbon, neat."

* * *

><p>Damon went straight to the Gilbert residence as soon as he left The Grill.<p>

All the lights were on, but he didn't expect Elena to answer the door when he knocked. She was dressed in her PJs and looked as if she was just getting ready for bed. She looked at him with a distant expression when she wordlessly invited him in, closing the door behind them.

Damon hadn't been to Elena's house in about a month and some things were new, but all together everything looked the same and had that same domestic feel that his own house seemed to lack. He wondered what Bonnie's house looked like. He'd never been inside, of course, so he wouldn't know.

Elena was staring at him, her expression carefully guarded, but Damon learned to read her like a book. She was a little hurt, a little angry, and very apprehensive.

Damon didn't even know what the fuck he came here for. All he knew was that they needed to talk about whatever this was and they needed to do it tonight.

"I'm sorry." He said after a long silence.

Elena shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Damon, you didn't do anything wrong."

Her voice said one thing, but her eyes said another.

"I know you're upset that I slept with Bonnie." Damon said, taking a seat next to her on the couch. "And it's not her fault. She didn't know about the promise I made, Elena."

"You don't have to defend her, Damon." Elena said, shifting a little in her seat and drawing her knees up until it was under her. "We spoke about it already. Two nights ago. Everything is fine."

"No it's not. You're still angry." Damon said, turning to face her. "If you're not angry at her, then you're angry at me. And I can understand that, Elena. I do."

Elena stared down at her hands.

"Are you in love with Bonnie?" She asked.

"No." Damon said.

Elena looked up at him again, her eyes a little damp. "Do you still love me, Damon?"

"I do, Elena." Damon said honestly, reaching over to take her hands. "I really do. You know I do."

"As much as last year?" Elena asked, squeezing his hand. "Are you still in love with me?"

Damon hesitated and Elena caught it. She gently removed her hands from his and folded them in her lap.

"I'm sorry Elena." Damon said again. He didn't know what else to say. He was usually the one getting the _'I don't love you like that anymore'_ speech. Not the other way around. He tried to think about the things Elena used to say to him when he was crazy on his pursuit to get her for himself. He couldn't remember.

"You kept me waiting for a year." Damon said, staring at the side of her face.

"You told me you'd wait as long as it took." Elena replied. "I needed time to sort my life out before I even thought about being with anyone."

"We drifted apart, Elena, and you know it." Damon said. "I don't know when or how it happened, but we did."

Elena said nothing for a long time. She just kept her eyes down and refused to look up at him.

"At the end of the day, I chose you, Damon." Elena said finally.

"I think you chose Stefan and you were waiting for him to get over his guilt to let you back in." Damon said. And he wasn't mad. A year ago, he would have been angry and hurt, but tonight, he wasn't. He just felt like he was stating facts. Like this conversation was long overdue.

Elena finally looked at him, then. "That's not true."

"Even if it wasn't," Damon said. "And even if we did start a relationship, I'll always wonder if it was my brother you wanted and not me."

Elena looked away again. "Well, that sounds like a personal insecurity, Damon."

Damon nodded and stood up. "Maybe it is."

Elena said nothing, her eyes downcast, hiding her face under her blanket of chestnut hair.

"Did you fall out of love with me before or after you started sleeping with Bonnie?"

"Before." Damon said automatically and truthfully. "This doesn't have anything to do with Bonnie."

She fell quiet again and the silence swirled around him and stifled him. He felt like she was judging him or blaming him for her unhappiness and it irritated him a little. And it made him feel more than a little guilty.

Damon felt like snapping at her because even if he was in love with Bonnie and still in love with her, she had no right to hold it against him. She was still in love with Stefan. She loved them at the same time. She kept him _waiting_…

Damon let his anger deflate.

He waited until Elena looked up at him to speak again. "I am sorry if I hurt you, Elena."

She stared at him, but didn't say anything as he turned and left. Damon walked out the front door, waited until he heard the lock click on the other side, and made his way to his car.

* * *

><p>It had started raining a little by the time Damon had made it to Bonnie's house. Damon sat in his car wondering what he was even doing here. He came here basically on autopilot. Like he was under some sort of mild compulsion.<p>

He turned off the ignition and stepped out into the drizzle. He walked slowly up to Bonnie's front porch, taking his sweet time as he thought about the different ways the upcoming scenario could go in his head.

Bonnie could slam the door in his face or she could not answer at all. She could invite him into her house for the first time and they could have a long awkward conversation about feelings and other lame chick-flick things.

Or they could have sex again, but Damon figured that was one thing that was **definitely** not going to happen tonight.

When he reached the front door, he rang the doorbell and only had to wait a few seconds before Bonnie answered the door. She looked surprised to see him.

"Damon." She said as she looked back into her house. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?" Damon asked.

"Um, ok." Bonnie said as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

Damon looked at the door, scratching the idea of an invitation inside off his list. Bonnie must have noticed him looking because she spoke up. "My dad's inside. I don't think he'd take kindly to me bringing dark and mysterious men into the house."

"Right, of course." Damon said.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Damon thought it was good that she was willing to at least speak to him as appose to the night at the party where she didn't even want to look him in the eyes.

"I spoke to Elena." Damon said, and watched Bonnie's face for any clues as to what she was feeling. She wasn't like Elena, though. He couldn't read her so simply.

"I did, too." Bonnie said. "She's still mad at me."

"Well, if it's any consolation, after tonight I don't think she's as angry with you as she is with me." Damon said.

Bonnie frowned. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her I wasn't in love with her anymore."

"Why would you say that?"

Damon sighed. "Because I'm not."

Bonnie was silent for a while, then she uttered out a quiet, "Oh."

When Damon was finally able to read her expression, he noticed it was conflicted. Just like he was conflicted earlier and still was right now.

"Why are you telling me this?" Bonnie asked. "What happens between you and Elena is your business, not mine."

"I just wanted to answer your question from the night at the party."

Bonnie folded her arms and a standoffish expression covered her face. "And what was the question?"

"If I was still waiting on Elena." He said. "The answer is no. Not anymore."

"Well, that doesn't change anything." Bonnie said. A slight wind blew and a few droplets of rain hit her, making her shiver. Damon wanted to offer his jacket and, seriously, was he turning into Stefan tonight? "Even if you don't love her anymore, she probably still loves you and I can't…"

"You can't what?" Damon prompted, finding a thread and holding onto it. What can't she do? Sleep with him anymore? Admit her feelings if she had any? Be his friend? Talk to him? What?

"Nothing." Bonnie said, closing off as abruptly as she had started to open.

Damon took a few steps forward until he was towering over her. "You can't what?"

"What did you come here for, Damon?" Bonnie asked, looking up at him. She looked genuinely confused. "I'm not doing the 'sort of friends with benefits' thing with you again."

"I'm not here for that, Bonnie." Damon said, cutting her off her train of thought before it could build momentum.

"Then tell me what you're here for!" Bonnie said, taking a step back and beginning to look frustrated. The sudden fire in her eyes is what made Damon reach out and grip her arms to keep her from moving away from him any further. He just wanted to touch her and to keep her from backing away.

She tried to pull away from him, but he held on tighter and before she could lay a verbal smackdown on him, he pulled her flush against him and kissed her.

For a few moments, Damon honestly thought Bonnie was going to give him an aneurism or set him on fire. But she didn't do anything. She didn't kiss him back or push him away. He pulled back and searched her face. Her eyes stayed closed as if she didn't want to open them and something inside Damon's stomach _burned_ at the sight of her serene expression. Their breaths mingled together, warm and soft. He leaned in closer to graze their lips together again and Bonnie made the tiniest movement towards him. That was all he needed. He backed off, giving her a little space.

When her eyes fluttered open, he searched them, looking for more clues as to how she felt.

"Damon…"

"I like you, Bonnie." Damon said, interrupting her. "I'm not sure what I want here and I don't think you do, either. But I do know that I like you."

Bonnie didn't say anything, but she shivered again and Damon wanted to imagine that it was his admission that made her shiver and not the cool wind.

"Elena is my friend, Damon." Bonnie said quietly.

Damon let his frustration run through him like molten lava, but he exhaled long and steady through his nostrils and moved away. Damon wasn't good at speaking his feelings and when he finally did so, he didn't take rejection lightly. He suddenly became annoyed with Elena. And Bonnie. And Caroline. And Stefan for telling him to talk this out.

He felt Bonnie's hand on his shoulder and with a slight tug, she got him to look up at her.

"We can be friends?" She tried, and Damon wanted to laugh from giddiness and scream out of anger at the same time. But he decided that this was a step up. He doubted Bonnie ever considered him to be a friend, even though he had her on his very short list of 'People I Actually Care About'.

"For now." He said, and it caused Bonnie to give him a hint of a smile.

"I do like you, Damon." She said as she looked up at him from under her fringe. "I figured I owed you that truth since you told me yours."

Her movements were hesitant as she spoke; almost shy. Damon wondered how that was even possible since he'd seen her naked more than a dozen times and fucked her sideways for 2 months.

"Is it a '_he's so hot_' like?" Damon asked, letting his arrogance slip back into his features. "Or a '_Damon's pretty damn awesome, I like him_' like?"

Bonnie smiled and bit her lip and Damon wanted to kiss her again. "Goodnight, Damon."

"You can't do the sexy walk away anymore." Damon said as she turned to walk away. "We're just friends now."

"I'm not trying to be sexy." Bonnie said as she opened her front door.

"All this time I thought you were putting effort into it." Damon said with faux-realization. "Turns out it's all natural."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and stepped into her house before she turned to look at him. "Like I said before, goodnight, Damon."

"Goodnight Bonnie." Damon said and he watched as she stepped back further into her house and shut the door.

* * *

><p>When Damon got home, Stefan was sitting on the couch, reading a book.<p>

"Good evening, brother." He greeted him as he took off his wet jacket and hung it up by the door.

"You're in a cheery mood." Stefan said without looking up from his book.

"I took your advice." Damon said as she walked over to where his brother was sitting and leaned over the chair to stare into his book. "Everything went better than expected. Except Elena probably won't talk to me ever again."

"And you're ok with that?" Stefan asked, looking up to stare at him.

"Of course not." Damon said with a frown.

"What about Bonnie?" Stefan asked.

"We're friends." Damon grinned again, and added, "For now."

"Good for you." Stefan said as he stared down at his book again.

"You don't sound too happy for me."

"Well, knowing you, you're still going to pursue her." Stefan said as he turned a page. "And knowing her, she's going to reject you."

Damon stood up straight and glared down at the back of Stefan's head.

"And you'll become bitter and I'll be the one to keep you for doing anything stupid. History repeats itself, brother."

Damon walked around the couch to grab the book out of Stefan's hands. "Someone's in a sour mood tonight. You're sounding like the Ripper again."

Stefan sighed and shook his head. "I know. I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

"Well, go to sleep." Damon said and tossed the book in the seat next to Stefan.

"I was asleep." Stefan said.

Then Damon noticed his paler than usual complexion and came to the conclusion that he might have had another nightmare. They were becoming scarce, but every time Stefan thought the one he had that night would be the last, he'd wake up on a random day a few weeks later, fangs out and pillows ripped while he tried to block out the memories of blood and death. On the nights when Damon heard the muffled noises from Stefan's room, he would bring him alcohol and talk his ear off about everything until the sun rose, just to help him get his mind off of whatever dream he had.

"I'm glad you worked things out with Bonnie." Stefan said as he stood up and picked up his book. "I'm going to try to go back to sleep."

"You sure you don't want to, I don't know, talk about it?" Damon asked. "I mean, I've been having sentimental conversations all day. One more isn't going to hurt."

Stefan looked like he honestly wanted to take Damon up on his offer, but instead he shook his head. "I need to deal with this alone, Damon."

"Why?" Damon asked. "You've helped me in the past, now it's my turn to help you."

"I've come this far by myself. This is the last obstacle and I'm going to get through it, no matter how long it takes." Stefan said. "I depended too much on Lexi's shoulder and Elena's love. I need to stand on my own two feet now because if this happens again, I need to have to strength to pull myself back in."

"If you go wayward again, Stefan, I'll be here."

"You're not always going to be here, Damon." Stefan said as he turned to leave. "This is a quiet, boring town and forever is a long time. Sooner or later, we're going to go our separate ways again."

Damon watched as Stefan disappeared up the stairs to lock himself in his room and prepare for another sleepless night where he'd sit up alone in the dark and think about things that should probably be tucked away and forgotten.

Sighing, Damon made his way up to his room. It's been a stressful day, and he'd honestly want nothing more than to fall face first into bed and wake up to have his brother back to his normal, broody self and to have his cake and eat it too.

Literally.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN** How was I with Damon's POV? Was he in character? Please let me know what you think! I'm eager to hear your opinions! :)_

_Also, thanks to the people who pointed out that Damon did lock the bathroom door in the last chapter before Elena and Caroline barged in. Plot hole! I'm sorry!  
><em>

_And, as always, thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome!_


	5. Chapter 5

I am so sorry for how long it took me to continue this story! The main reason being is that I've kind of lost interest in TVD. I'm not interested in more than half of what's going on in the show at the moment and it sucks because during season 1 and half of season 2, it was my favorite show, but now... eh._  
><em>

Anyway, here's the new chapter. Since it's been a while I feel like I should remind that this story is most definitely AU and it doesn't follow canon after the first half of season 3. So Elena is not a vampire.

As always, sorry for any typos and/or grammar mistakes.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

_Bonnie had one of those dreams where you were aware that you were dreaming, but you couldn't wake yourself up no matter how much you wanted to. _

_She and Damon were at the boarding house arguing over something mundane, like always. Tempers were high and flaring and Bonnie could feel the magic under her skin practically sizzling to lash out at Damon and shut him up because whatever he was saying, she really didn't care for. When Bonnie turned to leave, Damon was suddenly in front of her, blocking the doorway. He was all vamped out and looking angry… or hungry. She couldn't tell the difference. She wasn't scared, though. They stared at each other, both enraged and defiant and there was so much fire and want boiling under Bonnie's skin that she didn't even wait for him to make the first move._

_She crashed her lips to his, immediately nicking her bottom lip on one of his sharp teeth and the pain really meant nothing when Damon groaned like what he suddenly tasted was the best thing in the world. One of his hands found her throat and he used the temporary upper hand to maneuver her up against the front door and immediately rip her shirt like it was flimsy paper. He dipped down to kiss her collar bone and then her chest and Bonnie closed her eyes for a few seconds to gather herself. When she opened them again and looked down, the first thing she noticed was that Damon's hair was different. It was brown. Bonnie immediately felt a cold chill run up her spine and she knew something wasn't right._

_Suddenly, the head tilted up and it definitely wasn't Damon anymore. It was Stefan. And his whole mouth and chin was smeared with deep red blood._

_He smiled slowly and almost innocently, showing his sharp fangs that looked almost out of place on his open and innocent face. It wasn't until then that Bonnie felt an intense pain coming from her chest. One of her hands immediately flew to the source of the pain and when she brought it up to inspect it, it was coated sticky with dark blood._

_She couldn't even scream. _

_Stefan leaned down to kiss her and Bonnie didn't, couldn't move. It was like she was frozen on the spot. Stefan was kissing her like a lover in contrast to Damon's brash kisses and small bites a few seconds ago. But she could taste the copper and salt taste of blood – her blood – on his lips. She could feel the danger radiating from him like a heater in a cold room. Despite his smile and his gentle kisses, everything about him was wrong. He was wrong. This was all very, very wrong._

_When Stefan pulled away, she registered someone coming up behind her a few moments before a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. A voice that was unrecognizably Damon's whispered into her ear, soft and slow like molasses: "I think my brother likes you."_

_Stefan's smile widened until he almost looked manic. His teeth were completely red with her blood and the obscene sight made Bonnie shake with terror and, embarrassingly and strangely enough, arousal._

_Damon's hand came up to the side of her face and he brushed her hair to the side to expose her bare throat. He leaned down to kiss her once, right on her pulse, and hummed softly. Bonnie kept her eyes trained on Stefan during the whole ordeal, watching him as he stared right back at her. Damon leaned in closer and licked a slow swipe up the side of her neck and Bonnie leaned into it instead of away as any sane person would do._

_As suddenly as he'd moved in, he backed away again. Gently, but firmly, he tilted her neck to the side and Bonnie watched as Stefan's eyes glazed over at the sight of her bare neck. _

_Before Bonnie could even think about reacting, Stefan was suddenly at her neck, his fangs sinking into her throat, and Bonnie was finally able to scream as the pain bloomed and flared._

She woke up screaming and shaking, her hands flying up to her neck to check for any gashes or blood. There was nothing there, but she could feel the pulsing pain in her neck as if it had been real.

* * *

><p>Bonnie learned from experience that dreams like that meant <em>something<em> and it was best to not cast them aside. She had woken up at 5am and two hours later she was still sitting on her bed, trying to figure everything out. With dreams like that, you can't read into everything, yet every single detail is important. She remembered the dreams she had about Emily and Klaus and how she felt during and after she had them. They were like a warning about an incoming storm.

But maybe she was overreacting and this particular dream meant nothing at all. Maybe it was just a nightmare. A really, _really_ vivid nightmare.

She waited until her father left for work before forcing herself to get something to eat. She still felt shaky and every slight noise in her house set her on edge.

What had that dream meant, if it meant anything at all? She knew that it definitely had something to do with Stefan and Damon. Were they going to hurt someone? Were they going to hurt her?

Bonnie was pretty sure that Damon wouldn't hurt her. Stefan wouldn't hurt her, either. Not intentionally anyway. But the Stefan in her dream looked like the cold guy that made Elena's life a living hell for a few weeks last year. She remembered not really seeing anything behind his eyes but hunger. Even his smile was icy and sharp like a cold blade. And she remembered being afraid of him, not Damon.

Leaving her untouched bowl of cereal behind, she went to the kitchen counter and grabbed the phone off the hook. Without thinking, she dialed Damon's number. Maybe if she heard his voice and got confirmation that nothing was wrong, she'd stop worrying.

The phone rang a few times before Damon answered.

"Now's not a good time, Bonnie." Damon said, voice raised to speak over the loud music in the background.

"Damon, is everything ok?" Bonnie asked, feeling as if knots were forming in her stomach. Damon was silent for a while, maybe 30 seconds or so, before the music in the background shut off abruptly.

"Everything's just peachy. Look, can I call you back?"

Bonnie started to pace around her kitchen. Damon was definitely bullshitting her. Something was wrong. She could hear it in his voice and she could feel it in her gut. And she knew, she just knew that it had something to do with her dream.

"No, Damon, tell me what's wrong. Where's Stefan?"

Damon was silent again.

"Damon if there's something wrong with Stefan, I can probably help." Bonnie said.

"I'll call you back in 5 minutes." And with that, the line went dead.

Bonnie jerked the phone back from her ear and stared at it. She contemplated calling back, but she knew Damon probably wouldn't answer. Frustrated, she hung up as well and placed the phone back on the receiver.

Bonnie leaned against the counter and waited. 5 minutes turned to 10, and 10 into 30. Bonnie had started pacing again around the 15 minute mark, arms folded tight across her chest. Just as she was about to call Damon back, she heard a knock on her door, followed shortly by the sound of the doorbell.

When she opened the door, Damon was leaning against the door frame, one of his hands raised as if he was about to knock again.

He looked a mess. His hair was tussled and there were a few rips in his black v-neck.

Bonnie frowned. "What happened?"

"Have you spoken to Elena today?" He asked straight off the back.

"No." Bonnie said quickly. "Is something wrong? Is she hurt?"

"She's just peachy." Damon said with a sharp smile. "But she spoke to Stefan last night. Whatever they talked about didn't sit well with him."

"Did he do this to you?" Bonnie asked, taking in his disheveled appearance again. "Did you guys get into a fight?"

"I don't know where he is." Damon said, ignoring her questions. "He left last night and he hasn't been back."

"Ok?" Bonnie said, growing increasingly confused. "Maybe he needed to clear his head or something. Get away for a while?"

"Why did you call me asking for Stefan?" Damon asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I had a dream."

Damon waited for her to elaborate, but when she didn't, he rolled his eyes. "What kind of dream?"

"I saw Stefan… and he wasn't himself." Bonnie said. There. Short, simple, and to the point. She didn't have to go into any awkward details.

"What do you mean he wasn't himself?" Damon asked.

"He looked more than a little insane." Bonnie explained. "Like he wasn't all there. I don't know how to completely explain it, but something was definitely off with him."

Damon's eyebrows furrowed and he made a soft 'hmm' noise.

"And he looked dangerous." Bonnie added.

"He's not dangerous. He's just going through some stuff."

"What stuff?" Bonnie asked.

Damon chewed on his bottom lip as if he was contemplating telling Bonnie the truth, and that annoyed her a little. She folded her arms and gave him an expectant look.

Damon sighed. "Let's just say that he has a little problem with guilt. He lets it consume him and he handles it in the worst way possible."

"Ok." Bonnie said. "So this is what you're worried about?"

"He has a blood addiction that he tries to hold under wraps." Damon said. "And he's been getting better, but whatever Elena said to him last night set him off."

"What do you mean 'set him off'?" Bonnie asked. "Did he… hurt someone?"

"No." Damon replied with a tone that hinted that he thought that was the most ridiculous thing in the world. "We keep our blood in a freezer in the basement. We had about 80 bags left. He got into it."

Bonnie squirmed. "I don't understand. If he didn't hurt anyone and he drank blood from the bags you guys keep in the basement, what's the big deal?"

"Stefan tries to drink one glass of blood per day. Sometimes he tries to skip a day or two, but I make sure he takes his medicine." Damon said. "But he drank all 80 bags, Bonnie."

Bonnie blinked. "All of it? Damon, that doesn't sound too good for a guy with a blood addiction."

"I know." Damon said. "That's why I have to find him before he fucks himself up."

"Fucks himself up? What if he hurts someone?" Bonnie asked disbelievingly. "It seems like you care more about finding him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself rather than finding him to keep the people of this town safe."

"You're right." Damon's voice had taken on a challenging tone. "I do care more about my brother's wellbeing than anyone else's."

"Well that's good to hear." Bonnie bit out.

"He's my brother. He's all I've got."

"You have friends too, Damon." Bonnie reminded him.

She and Damon stared at each other for a while before he looked away. "Look, Stefan is my brother and he's going through a rough patch. I just need to find him."

Something about the tone in Damon's voice and the way he averted his eyes from her made Bonnie soften, even it was just a little. He was genuinely worried. Bonnie could tell, even as he tried to cover it up.

"I can help you find him." Bonnie offered.

Damon shook his head. "No offence, Bonnie, but if I drag you along for the ride, you'll most likely slow me down."

"Then why are you here?" She asked, irritated. "If you're not here for my help, why did you come here?"

Damon was silent for a while before he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I was just trying to see if you heard from him. Obviously not, so I'll be on my way."

He turned to leave and Bonnie considered stopping him, but she decided to let him go. If he needed her help after all, he'd have to suck up his pride and ask her.

She watched him as he got into his car and sped off. She closed the door and locked it when his car was out of sight.

* * *

><p>Bonnie spent the rest of the day irritated and on edge again. She kept her cellphone close by just in case Damon or anyone else called about Stefan.<p>

By the time 7pm had rolled around, no one had called. Not even Elena or Caroline, which was surprising because they were always the ones to know about what was going on before she did.

Feeling drained from being antsy and worrying all day, Bonnie laid down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Her head was pounding and she was tired. Not getting a lot of sleep the night before started to catch up to her and before she knew it, she was nodding off.

_As soon as she closed her eyes, she woke up in a dark, heavily wooded area. She was somewhere she didn't recognize, but the place oddly felt familiar. _

_She stood up and looked around. She was in a clearing, completely surrounded by mossy trees and eerie fog. The damp dirt under her bare feet made a small squelching noises every time she made a move. _

_A chilly wind blew, whisping her hair around her face. She folded her arms across her chest to block out some of the cold._

"_Bonnie." _

_The sound of her name startled her and she almost tripped over her own feet when she whipped her head around. No one was there, but the voice had been so close that she could have sworn someone had spoken directly into her ear._

"_Bonnie." The voice said again, and this time when she turned around, it was Stefan standing there._

_He was so close to her that she almost slammed into him. He took in her frightened expression before he smiled at her. Just like in the last dream, the smile made him seem manic. _

"_Why do I keep dreaming about you like this?" Bonnie asked him. "What is wrong with you?" She knew it was probably stupid to ask him those questions. She doubted she would get any answers._

_The silent stare he was giving her freaked her out. She closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up. _

'_Wake up wake up.' She repeated it like a mantra. 'Wake up wake up it's just a dream wake up!'_

_But when she opened her eyes, Stefan was still standing there, but he had changed. He looked like old Stefan. Like the one who had given her blood when Damon bit her. Like the one who helped Caroline through her transition and made Elena so, so happy. Relief spread through her stomach like she had drank something hot after coming in from the cold._

"_Are you ok?" He asked, reaching out to touch her face, and then brushing back her hair out of her eyes._

_Bonnie shook her head. She noticed then that she was trembling._

_Stefan pulled her close and without hesitation, he kissed her. _

Bonnie woke up to the loud blaring of her cellphone, which was right next to her face. Groggily, she reached for it and peered at the screen. It was Damon. She answered it immediately.

"Damon?"

"I found Stefan." Damon said, but he didn't sound too happy about it.

Bonnie was already off the couch and heading upstairs. "I'm coming over."

Damon was silent for a while before he finally sighed. "Why?"

"Because," Bonnie said, stuffing her feet into her shoes. "I need to speak to him about something."

"He's not-" Damon paused. "Fine. Come over."

"I'll be there in 10." Bonnie said before she hung up.

* * *

><p>Bonnie actually got there in 15, but she doubted Damon would care.<p>

When she knocked on the door, Damon opened it and motioned for her to come in before turning away and walking back to the living room.

"Where is he?" Bonnie asked as she took off her jacket and hung it on the brass coat rack by the door.

"Gone." Damon called from the living room.

Bonnie frowned. "What?"

As Bonnie made her way over to the living room, the smell of alcohol got stronger. She wasn't surprised to see Damon lounging on the couch, a bottle of bourbon in his hands with more empty ones littering the floor.

"Want a drink?"

"How much have you had to drink?" Bonnie asked.

Damon shrugged.

"Well, where is Stefan?"

"He left an hour ago."

Bonnie's temper flared. "Then why did you tell me he was here?!"

Damon took a long drink out of his bottle. "I guess I needed the company. Drinking by yourself is depressing."

Bonnie folded her arms. "If you would have asked, I would have come over."

She walked over to the couch and Damon moved his legs so she could sit down.

"Where did you find him?" Bonnie asked after about a minute of silence had passed.

"He found me, actually." Damon murmured, and then added with a dry chuckle, "At the cemetery of all places."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

"What always happens." Damon grumbled. "We fought, we said things we didn't mean, and then we stormed off in different directions."

"You let him get away again?" Bonnie shook her head. "Seriously, Damon?"

"Listen," Damon snapped. "I can't force him to do what he doesn't want to do. I tried. I tried to talk to him, but he won't…"

He trailed off, running a hand through his hair.

"When I was talking to him today, I felt like I was talking to The Ripper." Damon said, his voice quiet and thoughtful. "I mean, the old, brooding Stefan usually can't throw insults that good and that fast."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Let's not start with the sarcasm comments tonight, Damon. I can tell you're worried."

Damon turned to look at her, his grip tightening on the bottle in his hand. "I'm not worried. I'm angry!"

He stood up and started pacing back and forward around the room. "I thought he was fixed last time. I thought that that was the last time he was going to fall off the wagon. That I had done a good job."

Bonnie blinked and tried to keep up with his rambling.

"He's always been there for me - through everything, and I can't even help him get over this!" Damon stopped his pacing and threw the bottle across the room, breathing hard as it shattered into a million pieces.

Bonnie flinched. "Damon-"

"We -" He paused, "**He** was getting through this. Now we're back at square one, apparently." Damon said as he paced the room again. After a while, he seemed to run out of steam and he sat down on the couch next to her again.

Bonnie stared at him. She was afraid to touch him after his outburst, but she did anyway.

"It'll be ok." Bonnie said after a while, laying a hand on his shoulder. She tried to turn him around to look him in the eyes and try to get the message through, but Damon was as stiff as a board under her hands.

"Damon…" She said as she placed a hand on his face and coaxed him around. "He'll be fine."

Damon nodded once, and now that Bonnie could see his face clearly, she could see the worry and the sadness. He looked tired and pale under the moonlight streaming in through the open window. Bonnie had never seen this much raw emotion from Damon before. He almost looked like a different person, and the fact that he let Bonnie close enough to see this new layer of his personality made Bonnie question almost everything about him, how she felt about him, and how he felt about her.

Bonnie moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek and she let her thumb graze under his eyes as if she was wiping away invisible tears. She watched as Damon closed his eyes and slightly leaned into her hand and let all the tension slip out of his body.

This is why he told her to come over tonight. He needed someone to talk to. He needed to talk to _her_. Her. Not Caroline or Elena. Her.

Without hesitating, Bonnie leaned down and pressed her lips against his, letting it linger for a second or two before pulling back. Damon opened his eyes to look at her with an almost surprised expression on his face. Slowly, his hand came up to brush against Bonnie's cheek and there was a sudden heat in his eyes. He gently pulled her back towards him and captured her lips. For a while there was a uncertain tension between them, both wondering if this was the right thing to do, but after a few seconds, Bonnie thought screw it and _melted_ against Damon and let him drag her closer to him. Damon's hand moved around to her back and shifted her until she was flat against him, her breasts pressing hard against his chest.

When Bonnie pulled back to breathe, Damon stared down at her, his eyes betraying too much of what he was thinking. Bonnie figured he probably was expecting another 'just friends' speech, but he'd be pleasantly surprised to know that Bonnie didn't have it in her to deny him anymore. She'd reached the end of her line.

"Don't tell me you're backing out on me again." Damon said, voice calm and a little sarcastic, but Bonnie could tell that he was genuinely disinterested in being left high and dry again.

"No." Bonnie said with a small smile that was meant to be reassuring. "No, I'm not."

It was difficult, falling for someone like Damon. It put her in a weird place because a year ago, she'd wanted nothing to do with him. But after spending some time with him as oppose to just knowing him as 'that guy who is obsessed with my best friend', she started to learn little things about him that humanized him. Like how much he loved his brother. How much he was really willing to do for him.

That still didn't erase the fact that he'd killed dozens of people, kept Caroline as a plaything, and threatened her countless times until he learned that he sure as hell couldn't get away with it anymore. That's what made her feel weird about the whole thing. Liking Damon, sleeping with him (with or without strings attached), kissing him, caring about him, falling for him… it all went against who she was and what she stood for.

Yet here she was. Here she was going against her better judgment and her morals all while she and Elena's friendship was on a thin line…

And Bonnie couldn't help herself.

She leaned up to kiss him again. It was no more than a slight press of her lips against his, but it still sent a thrill through her. Damon looked at her with such an open expression. He was vulnerable. Bonnie wondered in the back of her mind how many times Damon let Elena see this side of him. She chased the thought out of her mind before she allowed herself to dwell on it.

Bonnie leaned back against the couch and maneuvered Damon until he was pressed against her side.

"Stefan's gonna be fine." She said as she trailed one of her hands up his arms and across his back slowly as if she was soothing an animal. Damon didn't answer and Bonnie guessed it was partially because he didn't really believe her. But that was expected. Bonnie didn't really believe herself either. Not after what Damon just told her.

Damon kicked his feet up on the couch and slid down until his head was in Bonnie's lap. He stared up at her, eyes bright and open. They stayed like that in complete silence until Bonnie fell asleep a half an hour later.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading. Review and tell me what you think :)<em>


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